Earlier this week, Google changed its algorithm for ranking how websites return in its search results. The aim was to reduce the rankings of content that Google considers low-quality. If you aren’t a web site owner, you probably didn’t notice. Now that I’ve told you, probably don’t care. Those who are web developers either got a nasty or pleasant surprise. More than a few of my blogger friends were upset they lost their rankings. Google rankings are extremely important for many website owners. Since most people use Google to find information, a drop in rankings means a loss in traffic… and a loss in income.

For the bloggers who have seen their rankings drop it is a difficult time. I know they work hard and their content is very good quality. One blogger I know lost half of his traffic. My heart goes out to this person. I always knew this was a possibility. It’s one of the things you sign on for when you are a blogger. From a business perspective, it’s less than ideal to have another business, in this case Google, have such a major impact on your business.

Wondering about how my websites have done? They’ve almost all increased in traffic. In fact, the rankings may be too good. For most website owners the close to the top the better. In checking this morning, my posts exposing the MonaVie scam was #2. MonaVie has already threatened to sue me twice because… in their words:

When an individual types in MonaVie at www.google.com, in the search box, and clicks on Google Search, the first page of Google that appears is:

Before they were concerned when my article showed up as the #5 or #6 results. With Google’s change putting me at the #2 ranking, I half expect they’ll take further action of some kind against me. Let’s face it, it’s easier for them to complain about one person expressing his opinion than take on Google and their rankings. It’s much easier for MonaVie to suppress the truth, than try to defend the criticisms.

With that said, let’s get to the links from other personal finance sites.

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